Bajrang Punia became the third Indian after Sushil Kumar and Rahul Aware to win gold in the wrestling event at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. He defeated Wales' Charig Kane by technical superiority in the 65 kg category. Kane failed to score a single point in the match as Bajrang reeled off ten points in a row in less than 10 minutes.
Pooja Dhanda then added a silver to India's medal tally after losing 5-7 to Nigeria's Odunayo Adekuoroye in the women's 57 kg category final. Adekuoroye had also won Gold in the 2014 edition in Glasgow in the 53 kg category and she had also medaled at the 2010 edition in New Delhi.
19-year-old Divya Kakran then won a bronze by registering an emphatic win against Bangladesh's Sherin Sultana in the 68 kg bronze medal bout in just 36 seconds. Kakran had earlier lost in the semis to Nigeria's Blessing Oborududu.
Mausam Khatri also ended with a silver after losing to South Africa's Martin Erasmus in the final of the 97 kg category in less than three minutes.
Bajrang, who is 24 years of age, had won a silver at the 2014 Glasgow Games in the 61kg weight category. He is also a World Championship medalist from 2013, when he picked up bronze in the 60kg category in Budapest.
He defeated Brahm Richards of New Zealand and Amas Daniel of Nigeria, and Canadian Vincent de Marinis in his first three bouts by identical scores of 10-0, without conceding a single point.
Like Sushil Kumar yesterday, Bajrang did not concede a single point in the entire competition and won all his four matches by technical superiority as none of the other wrestlers in his division were a match for him.
Pooja Dhanda wins silver after losing to Nigeria's Adekuoroye
Dhanda is a former Commonwealth Championship gold medalist, she won the title in 2013. She beat Canada's Emily Schaeffer 12-8 in her first match, and then beat Ana Moceyawa of New Zealand by pin fall in her second match. She then defeated Cameroon's Joseph Essombe Tiako 11-5 in the semi-final to make the final in her maiden appearance at the Games.
Back in 2014, Dhanda was amongst the most promising wrestlers in the country. She had won a silver at the 2010 Youth Olympics before becoming a senior national champion in 2013. Later that year, she took gold at the 2013 Commonwealth Championships and followed that up with a bronze at the 2014 Asian Championships.
"Geeta (Phogat) wrestled in the 58kg category and then Sakshi Malik won an Olympic bronze in the same weight. It is very difficult to even represent India in this category but there is a lot of responsibility if you do. The Commonwealth Games are important, but my target will be the 2020 Olympics," she had told ESPN earlier this year.
Kakran defeats Sultana in 36 seconds to win bronze
Kakran is the reigning national champion in the 68kg category and she also won the silver medal in a competitive field at the Asian championships in 2017, an event where she had won the gold at the cadet level in 2015. She registered a narrow 10-8 win in her first bout of the day against Cameroon's Gaelle Alakame Anzong, but lost to Canada's Danielle Lappage 12-2 by technical superiority in her second.
Kakran's father sells wrestling merchandise at various wrestling competitions in India and was at the national championships too, where Kakran won the title. Speaking after her win then, she had said, "It doesn't bother me to have my father sell langots when I am competing. I understand the reason I was able to wrestle was because my father did this job. I don't want him to quit now. It is gives me a lot of pride. I want him to keep doing this. Perhaps even when I compete in Tokyo."
Khatri ends with silver after getting outclassed by Erasmus
The 27-year-old Khatri had never competed in the Commonwealth Games before, though he had won two gold medals in the Commonwealth Championships in the past. He beat Alexios Kaouslidis of Cyprus in the quarterfinal 12-0 inside the first three minutes, before overcoming Nigeria's Soso Tamarau 10-7 in the semis.